KwaZulu-Natal composer and cellist Dr Thokozani Mhlambi will perform Zulu Song Cycle for one night only at the Baxter theatre on Saturday May 26.
Dr Mhlambi, 32, grew up singing hymns by African composers in his grandparents’ lounge, and he studied music as a subject at Newcastle High. He earned his PhD in music at UCT in 2015.
One of his biggest career highlights was when his composition, Uyambona lo Mfana, was sung by the Delta Ensemble of Modern Music in Brazil in 2016.
He has performed and given workshops in Vancouver and Montreal in Canada, New York in America, Windhoek in Namibia, Maputo in Mozambique, Gaborone in Botswana and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.
Dr Mhlambi said he hoped his Baxter performance would bring people together from all over Cape Town.
“My vision is to be a bridge through my art, and so with all the political changes that seem to overwhelm our present day, I hope we can use music to reflect on something more worthwhile,” he said
In the Zulu Song Cycle, a Cape Town audience can expect a format widely associated with the German lieder form used by the likes of Weber, Schubert and Beethoven.
He will be accompanied by Shiba Mazaza, the MC for the evening; Ncebakazi Mnukwana, on the Uhadi bow, a traditional Xhosa instrument, and Theo Ndindwa, the director of Ikapa Dance Theatre Company.
Tickets are R100 and available at www.webtickets.co.za. Or book through the Baxter theatre at 0861 915 800 or www.baxter.co.za.
